The last
remaining pier from the lower west side. The rest were removed to allow the
land-fill for Battery Park city.

The Department of Docks stood on Pier A,
Manhattan's southmost Hudson River pier. This utilitarian brick
structure was built in 1886; in 1900, a three-story front section and
metal siding were added, and in 1919, a clocktower was appended as the
nation's first World War I memorial. In Abbott's day, celebrities
arriving in New York City were ceremoniously greeted here, and the
department's guestbook, which included the signature of Charles
Lindbergh, attracted tourists visiting the nearby aquarium.

Although slated for demolition during the
construction of Battery Park City, the building was designated a
landmark in 1975. Now vacant, it is likely to be renovated for
commercial use

Pier A Progress Perennially delayed project
back on track

By Ronda Kaysen

Pier A in Battery Park may finally get a
long awaited multi-million dollar restoration now that the city and the
pier’s leaseholders are close to hammering out an agreement, bringing
nearly two decades of wrangling to a close.

The three-story pier was once a Victorian
wonder in Battery Park that welcomed the likes of Amelia Earhart, the
Queen of England and various heads of state. Today it is a dilapidated
shell of a berth, hidden behind a chain link fence and shrouded in a
thick layer of scaffolding. Soon, all that may change.

“How do I feel about this? I’ve been
working on this for 16 years! I’m thrilled,” said Thomas Ickovic, one of
the managing partners of Wings Point Associates, the leaseholder for the
property.

In recent months, Wings Point settled
lawsuits with the city and New York Waterway, which recently sold its
Downtown commuter ferry routes to attorney William Wachtel, a Wings
Point managing partner. With the legal issues resolved, Wings Point and
the Economic Development Corporation, the landlord for the property,
have reached an agreement in principle, according to a source at Wings
Point who requested anonymity.

The National Park Service will, if the
agreement is signed, have a permanent home for its Statue of Liberty
security checkpoint, bringing an end to the temporary—and unsightly—gray
tents that have marred the Battery Park promenade since Liberty Island
reopened with tighter security in December 2001.

“We’re just so excited to have anything
happening there; it means we have our promenade open to the public
again,” said Warrie Price, president of the Battery Conservancy. “We
want [the promenade] back — that great experience of coming to Castle
Clinton and having that doorway framing the harbor for you is your first
major impression of looking out at those 11,000 acres of water. That
plaza has got to be open space for the people Downtown.”

Opened to the public for the first time in
its history, a portion of Pier A’s sweeping ground floor will be used
for Park Service security, and Wings Point has strongly suggested that
Statue of Liberty-bound visitors enter through a north pier entrance,
with the north and west docks used for Circle Line ferries.

Today, the ground floor is little more
than a construction site with hanging wires and plank and plywood
floors. But its arched windows and open floor plan tell a different
story. Built in 1886 for the now defunct Department of Docks and
Ferries, the ground floor has an impressive bank of floor to ceiling
arched windows, filling the dusty structure with light and breathtaking
views of the New York Harbor. “They needed to read blue prints,” Ickovic
said of the city workers. “They needed a building with extraordinary
light.” The pier was also used as an observation tower for the city’s
harbor police and most recently the marine division of the city’s fire
department.

Federal legislation signed by President
George W. Bush last December gave the Park Service the authority to
secure a permanent location for its security facilities.

Wings Point, which signed a lease for the
property in 1989, plans to donate the space to the Park Service,
according to James Pepper, superintendent of national parks in
Manhattan. Without a signed and sealed agreement, however, Pepper, is
wary of premature celebrations.

“We think it’s an exciting opportunity,
and we’re looking at it very closely,” Pepper said. “But we haven’t
actually signed any agreements at this stage.”

The Economic Development Corporation,
which controls the property, shares the Park Service’s sentiment. “We
have been working closely with Wings Point and the National Park Service
and are very happy to have the project moving again,” Janel Patterson,
an E.D.C. spokesperson said. However, “There are still some issues to be
resolved but we hope they’ll be worked out in the near future.”

Wings Point plans to transform the top
floor of the 32,000 sq. ft. structure into a “tavern-on-the-water” type
events-catering hall and use the south pier for its own harbor tours,
water taxi service to South Street Seaport and morning and evening New
York Waterway commuter ferries, Ickovic said. The second floor and
portions of the ground floor will be used for a harbor museum experience
and other facilities.

The agreement should be finalized by the
middle of March with work beginning immediately thereafter, said a
source at Wings Point, who requested anonymity because the final deal
has not yet been signed. The pier is expected to be open to the public
this year. “Certainly by the early fall, if not sooner, the pier will be
a vibrant hall for millions of Americans to see the Statue of Liberty,”
the source said. “The key is for all parties to get their arms around
[the agreement.]”

Wings Point filed permits with the city’s
Dept. of Buildings recently so it can begin work.

“This building has so much history, I am
so stoked to be a part of this project,” said Seth Goldstein, project
coordinator for the renovation. “I can’t wait to get started on this.”

The massive loading barge that the Port
Authority placed at the edge of the dock after September 11, 2001 for
displaced PATH commuters will not return. Ickovic said the restored pier
will not include a barge anywhere near that size and will have what he
called a small floater with room for a few boats.

Pier A was built immediately after work
was finished on the Brooklyn Bridge and with the same equipment.
Restoring it requires replacing the original detailed metal façade and
fixtures that are no longer produced in this country. The machinery that
casted the pressed metal detailing no longer exists.

“For us to replicate it is much more work
than it was to originally build it,” Ickovic said.

The original clock keeps perfect ship time
in a tower at the western end of the pier, but was badly damaged with
time and needed its gears completely recast. “That was a very expensive
restoration job,” Ickovic said.

A historic renovation has its perks,
however. Wings Point qualifies for the Historic Preservation Tax Credit
program, which means the company will receive a 20 percent tax credit
for the $40 million project, Ickovic said. In 1997, the company also
received an $8 million loan from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban
Development, which will also be applied towards the restoration costs.

Ickovic is thrilled to see the pier, which
juts 300 feet out into the water and is the closest site on Manhattan to
the Statue of Liberty, restored. “It’s really one of the most
significant maritime buildings in New York City. Period.”